Fix You
by Elizabys
Summary: Elena has lost everything. Without her brother, she doesn't know what's left to live for. One night with her enemy changes everything for her. She realizes she's not the only one who has nothing left. She's lost her fire and needs him to reignite her. But, as enemies, can they be together? Can they bring each other back to life or will his darkness destroy her? Set after 4x15
1. As My World Divides

**As My World Divides**

The night air was crisp and clear but Elena Gilbert felt like she was being suffocated as she slowly walked down the stairs leading from her front porch. Her eyes were sore from the continuous crying and the tears that refused to relent. If she were human, she knew her muscles would be aching and tired. But, in her vampire body, the pain throbbed from a place inside of her that was so impossibly raw she knew it could never be soothed. During her human years, her body had taken multiple beatings and endured various traumas. However, this pain wasn't a result of an attack on flesh and bones. It was much worse.

She stared ahead, not looking at anything in particular, wondering how she could possibly still be breathing. The amount of hurt that she was carrying in her very core surely was enough to kill her? Or maybe it was just the type of misery that would eliminate any desire she ever had to live without actually killing her.

Maybe that was for the best. She didn't want to die. She still had reasons to remain alive. Didn't she?

A stiff glance towards the house behind her where her brother's lifeless body was resting told her otherwise. At the thought, pain ripped through her heart so violently she knew it was literally tearing itself to pieces. Her heart was on self-destruct mode. She only wished her body was doing the same.

Her head swung languidly as she crashed onto the pavement of the sidewalk to sit. She stared up at the sky, hoping to lose contact with reality soon.

Damon had tried to switch her humanity off – a tempting offer – but the last remaining piece of human-Elena willed her to refuse. If she turned off her humanity, then everyone whom she had loved that were now gone would become lost memories to her and the feelings associated with them would be dead, along with them.

That was too much to swallow. Maybe it was the masochist inside of her, but the grief was the only thing she had now. She knew she would cling to her misery with all her might because it would be the only thing left to feel. Her sorrow was her new best friend.

"I understand the situation just fine, _Stefan, _but we still have to do something with the body."

"It's not the right time to talk about this. If we try to take him from her right now, it could be what causes her to snap completely."

Elena listened numbly with her vampire ears at the mumbled argument between Damon and Stefan coming from inside the house. If she had the energy, she would almost roll her eyes. As if she hadn't already completely snapped.

She stopped listening almost immediately. The more she heard people talk about Jeremy's body – the more they confirmed what she had wanted to deny - the more she considered turning that switch off. That merciful switch which could end all the agony, erase all the pain, and relieve the sting. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to force this line of thinking to stop.

She had also stopped listening because their conversation was pointless. The plan was already set – she knew what she had to do.

After a few more minutes of sitting on the cold concrete as the pain continually washed over her in waves, she finally stood up with great effort.

It wasn't her body that prohibited her from regular movements, _as her vampire body would never grow weak - not like his, _she thought bitterly. It was her mind which desired nothing more than for Elena to lie on the ground and give up.

When she finally reappeared into the house, she looked directly at Jeremy's pale body stretched out along the couch. As she studied his body emotionlessly, she knew instantly that this horrid image would never be forgotten. A dry, dark sound, which almost sounded like the shadow of a laugh, escaped her lips alarming the three vampires in the room with her.

She noticed them studying her with frightened expressions, probably wondering if she had finally cracked. Nothing would be more frightening - or dangerous - than a psychotic, delusional vampire.

"It's a lie. Or maybe not a lie, but it's complete crap," she explained to them as she finally tore her eyes away from what used to be Jeremy.

Damon cocked an eyebrow and shot a pointed look at Stefan who couldn't tear _his_ eyes away from Elena's.

"They say that they look like they could be sleeping, that they look peaceful," she continued, as she roamed her hands idly over the various pictures lining her mantel. "He doesn't look peaceful and he doesn't look like he's sleeping. He looks dead. He looks gone from here…empty. He looks cold."

Her hollow voice rang throughout the house and she turned away from the three penetrating gazes that followed her.

The silence was too loud. It only reminded her that what she had just said was right. He was empty. And so was she.

Suddenly, she picked up a match and struck it against the wood on the mantel.

"Elena, NO!" Caroline implored when she saw the flicker of the flame in Elena's hands.

"Elena, we talked about this. You don't have to do this." She looked up at Damon's desperate eyes which were trying to understand just what her mental state was at the moment.

She shook her head. "It's the best cover story. He's not in there, Damon. He's gone and he's not coming back," her voice caught in her throat and she swallowed forcefully.

"So we set fire to the house – to all of this. I don't want any of this anymore, don't you see that?" Her voice remained calm which only frightened the vampires more. While earlier she had attempted to set fire to the house out of fury and a sudden burst of emotion, this was more calculated. She had been running on fumes when she had exploded and now she was just drained.

She was tired of trying to keep people safe but ending up with everybody dying around her. Tired of trying to hold everything together, only to have it fall apart violently. Tired of trying at all.

"Just wait, Elena," a voice called out to her through her thoughts. She stared as Stefan eased towards her. "If you do this, you're losing this part of you forever. What if, one day, you want to come home again?"

She held the match and, as she looked around to avoid his gaze, she caught sight of herself in one of the mirrors along the wall. She saw the reflection of the orange flame inside of her eyes and she considered it for a few moments. The fire burned in the center of her dark irises and then, as she dropped the match and it tumbled to the floor, it was gone and only dark nothingness remained.

"I won't."

* * *

_A/N: Hey guys, I hope you enjoy this new story! I've decided to start new and begin writing again. And I've always thought Elena and Klaus would make a lovely, dark couple! I can't promise regular updates as I'm pretty busy with work and college, so I decided to pop out these two chapters at once. I will try my best to update at least weekly, be patient with me :) _

_Much love! _

_Elizabeth _


	2. Can You Take It All Away?

**Can You Take It All Away?**

A siren sounded. Somewhere in the trees, an animal was moving. A baby cried in the distance. Elena heard all of these sounds as she walked pointlessly down the main street in her town. She registered all of these sounds and was intently aware of every movement around her. She fixed her mind on peripheral things as it took the focus off of the pain.

After she had destroyed her house – she refused to call it her home, anymore – she had started wandering aimlessly. At first, the Salvatore brothers had tried to tag along, always her protectors, but she had warned them off before disappearing into the night.

What was she looking for? Where was she going? She didn't know. She just knew that she had to keep walking. She needed to keep her body ahead of her mind.

By now, she would have thought the tears would have dried up but they kept pouring. Every tear held a different part of her that had died and she watched as each drop splattered onto the asphalt in a vicious collision.

With each new tear that descended down her cheek, Elena grew closer and closer to shutting it off. She wanted to be numb. She wanted to become as mentally empty as possible. Most of her was already completely filled with hollow nothingness, but she knew it wasn't the same. With her humanity shut off, she wouldn't be trapped inside of herself. She could release her mind and be free.

She suddenly began walking faster, taking each step forcefully. There had to something else – anything else. Something out there had to make it feel better. And that's all she wanted. For the pain to recede for just a moment.

Running her fingers roughly across her face, she slowed to a stop. Surveying her surroundings, she realized she didn't know where she was. She was lost and couldn't remember which way she had come from.

Maybe there was someone out there who could help her find her way back again. That was the hope which kept her from turning her switch off and murdering everything inside of her.

As she looked around, she spotted a sign familiar to her ahead in the distance, reminding her where she was. She resumed her pace and continued walking onward, not knowing where she was headed but knowing it had to be better than standing still.

Somewhere along the road, the awareness of Jeremy's death had slipped in and Elena had started trying to figure out the cause behind all of this. Surely, there was someone to blame. If not, everyone's deaths were just unlucky twists of fate. She wouldn't accept that. Someone was at fault. Someone needed to pay.

Throughout all of her meditation on the issue, there was one particular person who somehow played a part in every single disastrous situation Elena had endured throughout the last year. A person who unquestionably was the beginning she was searching for.

No matter how many ways Elena thought it through, it was undeniably true that all roads kept leading back to one man.

Klaus.

She reasoned that everything bad had been a result of his actions. Everything could be traced back to him. His arrival set into motion the series of events that lead to where Elena was right at that moment.

She walked faster, now knowing exactly where she was headed. Her destination was clear and she had found something to go after. No longer was she walking aimlessly in the night. She was going to find Klaus and, with every ounce of her remaining strength, she was going to make him suffer.

Half an hour later, she stood at the entrance to Klaus' extravagant mansion. Still heated with an intense fury, she violently banged on his door, splintering wood where her palm struck the door. She was channeling all of her agony and pain into one single outlet. Her very bones ached with the need to hurt Klaus, to make him feel what she felt. Honestly, to make _anybody_ feel what she felt. She wanted to vent every excruciating piece of brokenness she felt burning her up from the inside out.

However, when the door abruptly swung open and she was greeted with the sight of Klaus' alarmed face, all of that faded away instantly. It was like the sight of the monster actually before her sobered her up and brought her back to reality.

What had she been thinking? She had just killed his brother!

She had just killed his brother.

Oh no.

How could she have so foolishly forgotten that fact? He had sworn her death and Klaus wasn't the type to make false threats. Not only that but wasn't she being hypocritical? Hunting down the one whose brother she had directly killed for indirectly killing _her_ brother.

No longer feeling the burning rage inside of her, she now felt small and weak. She wondered if she would be able to run away, but something about him kept her rooted to her spot. Maybe it was the realization that he _did_ feel what she felt. Even if he was an emotionless sociopath, they both endured the same loss. And she had seen the rage on his face at the sight of his brother's demise. That wasn't the face of someone who was apathetic to loss.

She was brought out of her reverie by the chilling sound of his voice.

"My, my," he mocked. "I can honestly say I didn't expect to see you here, lovely Elena."

His face had already smoothed into his usual, arrogant smirk. Or was it the predatory grin of someone whose prey had just delivered themselves to their front door? She didn't want to know.

"I didn't expect to come here," she said softly, wondering how she ever even allowed herself to end up in this situation. She was unhinged and her emotions were starting to control her actions. This wasn't good.

She looked around her and wondered if it was too late to run – if the damage had already been done.

He raised an eyebrow curiously and his body leaned in towards her, almost daring her to make a run for it.

"I came here to hurt you," she admitted honestly and his lips lifted up even further. "Or maybe kill you. I don't know. I didn't think it through." She sighed and lowered her eyes, tucking her hair behind her ears. She was so tired. If he was going to kill her, hopefully he would do it quickly.

"Is that so?" he said in a low voice as his eyes took in her miserable frame. "Well, by all means, take your best shot."

This time his voice had a vicious edge to it as he raised his arms out to his sides, taunting her.

"I don't want to anymore," she breathed as she turned away from him and leaned her body against a column.

"Then what _do_ you want, little Elena? Surely you didn't come to my house after killing my brother based on some random whim to murder me?"

She turned to look at his face and saw his eyes were narrowed and all humor had slipped off of his face. Instead, the anger that burned just below the surface was becoming evident.

"Because, we all know how incredibly foolish that would be." As he spoke he took an imposing step towards her.

She turned her head away from him again and closed her eyes. "I just want it to stop hurting," she admitted, despite herself.

She didn't bother opening her eyes to see his reaction, but she heard him move even closer.

"Ah, yes," his voice dripped with spite. "I heard about little Jeremy." At this, Elena opened her eyes. She thought that, on any other day, she may have felt hatred or anger. But she only felt the intense desire for the pain that his reminder had caused to go away.

"I normally like to take vengeance into my own hands, but I have to give Karma my respect for this one."

His light eyes which were a mixture of blue and green burned into her. He was now standing directly in front of her, one hand propped against the column she was leaning on.

She wearily shrugged in resignation. "You're right." This seemed to give Klaus pause and his eyes studied hers intensely.

"What game are you playing?" he asked her tensely. He looked as if he were ready and willing to rip out her jugular at any moment, but, for some reason, was actively restraining himself.

"No games, Klaus," she responded with no fire in her voice. Didn't he see? She was a broken ruin. She didn't have the mind to verbally spar with him. Her fire wasn't there anymore. "I mean, you're right. I killed your brother and now mine's dead. Now there's nothing left for me and it's probably my fault. And there's no reason for you to be anything but happy. This is what you wanted. It's the perfect revenge and you didn't even have to lift a finger."

She was aware of how dull her voice sounded as she admitted her guilt to him. She had never been blunt and honest to him before and she had never left him win an argument. It was obvious by the surprised expression on his face that he had not expected this.

But what else would he expect? How could she possibly be who she was? She was different now. A broken mockery of the girl she used to be.

It was her turn to be somewhat surprised when he softly took a piece of her hair between his fingers that had been matted onto her face by the wetness of her tears. He brushed it back into place as he studied her face. She wondered what he saw when he looked in her eyes.

Was it the same thing she saw when she looked into his? Brokenness, emptiness, and loneliness?

The sudden realization that they might now be similar broke her out of her tired stupor. Was she like him now? Maybe this is how he became who he was. Maybe there's just so much tragedy a person can endure before they lose themselves.

"Where are you going?" she suddenly asked when she saw suitcases lined up by the still open door of his mansion.

He withdrew his hand from her hair and placed it back beside her head on the column. "Nowhere interesting, love."

"You're running," she said, nodding to herself. Of course he was. That's what he did when things hurt him and it's what she wanted to do.

"I'm not running, dear Elena. I'm hunting," he said with a devilish smile that repainted his features. All anger was gone from his features – only the intensity in his eyes remained.

"Hunting?" she questioned with raised eyebrows.

"Yes," he sighed, annoyed, and began to back away from her. "It seems there's a certain hybrid that needs to be taught a little lesson about what happens when you provoke someone much more powerful than you."

_Tyler,_ she thought.

A casual smile decorated his face while discussing his sinister motives and it almost gave Elena chills.

"So I was right."

"About what?" he questioned with that amused grin still contradicting the nature of the conversation.

"About you running away," the smile began to fade then. "You were hurt and now you're avoiding having to face it by acting out again."

"And you would know all about me and my secret pain, wouldn't you, _doppelganger?" _ he mocked her, spitting out the last word.

She shook her head, exhausted. "I'm not judging you. It's your defense mechanism. Who knows? Maybe I'll start doing the same thing."

"You'll start murdering people for your relief?" he questioned sarcastically.

She looked down for a while before answering, her dark hair falling around her face. "Anything's better than feeling what I feel right now." She looked up, peering into his eyes, hoping that he would understand the depth of her pain. She needed someone to understand and not question her breakdown.

He stared back expressionless and they stayed like that for just a moment. But it was long enough for Elena to see what she already knew. That deep down, he was just as miserable as she was. Except his was a misery that had been going on for centuries. It was calloused. Her pain had just started.

"You should probably go home, Elena," he drew out her name. "What would your little group of boy scouts think if they knew you were with the Big Bad Wolf in the midst of your deepest despair?"

"Am I allowed to go?" she questioned him, part of her hoping he said no. Part of her never wanting to leave this frozen moment and have to face the real world.

"I think the death of your brother is sufficient punishment for the death of mine," his eyes communicating the anger he would continue to hold for her. "Now you can exist for eternity knowing just how truly alone you are."

He had meant to hurt her. No matter how similar she could see they were or how deep their connected wounds were, he was still Klaus. And he didn't forgive. He had wanted a reaction from her and she realized she had lost her pride as a tear streaked silently against her olive skin.

But something kept her from leaving at that moment and cursing him for eternity. She knew that the punishment he had prescribed for her was the same punishment he had been enduring for centuries. The eternal loneliness he described was something she knew he was quite familiar with, himself.

He turned away from her and begin to walk back into his home, obviously satisfied with the pain showing on her face.

As she watched him walking away from her, something stirred from the deepest place within her. All of the sudden she imagined leaving at that moment, going back to her friends, talking to the authorities about the fire, having a memorial for Jeremy, and having to live her life from this point. It wasn't something she could face. Not yet. Her breaths became shallow and all of the scorching pain that had built up inside of her compelled her to cry out to the monster in front of her. The monster who, perhaps, was the only one who she could connect to anymore.

"Wait!"

The monster turned around and raised his eyebrow expectantly.

"I don't want to go." He appraised her, blue eyes raking over her desperate, trembling form. "I want you to make it stop."

A dark grin appeared on his full lips as he raised his eyebrows at her request.

She had really done it now.


	3. I Need Some Distraction

**I Need Some Distraction, Oh Beautiful Release**

Time seemed to hit the brakes when Elena offered herself to Klaus in such a vulnerable manner. She had just admitted her weakness to him, going so far as to request his hand to soothe her pain.

"Me?" he said, genuine shock coloring his tone. "Why would you come to _me_ for comfort, love?"

He stayed put in the door frame and his stillness made her anxious.

She moved towards him, instead, until she was standing mere inches away from him. She could feel that inside she was already set on carrying out this idea.

A distressed tear made its way silently down her somber face. She shook her head, mostly to herself, as she honestly didn't have an answer. "Because…" she hesitated, trying to articulate her feelings. "Who else could possibly understand this darkness inside?"

He looked at her thoughtfully as his mouth parted to answer. "What about all of your friends in your little noble gang of do-gooders? Or the heroic Salvatore brothers whom you're so fond of?" he probed with a sneer at the mention of Damon and Stefan. "They've encountered tragedy, too. Many times. You're not the only one who's lost something, Elena."

"Then why am I the only one falling to pieces?"

Her words hung heavily in the air, the darkness of night that surrounded them becoming too smothering.

"Maybe you're not," he spoke with an uncharacteristic softness that almost sounded regretful.

"That's why I'm standing here," she stated firmly, indicating to him as she looked into his eyes, which were still examining her deeply and unabashedly.

"The pain…I don't want to feel it," she continued in a small voice which revealed the sad girl she had become. "It hurts too much, and I'm falling apart. I can't keep everything together anymore. I can't…" she choked on her words, hating the truth she heard in them.

She looked back in his eyes, hardly even aware that her tears had finally dried up. Maybe they weren't unlimited, after all.

"Just take it away, please. Just for tonight we can be together and not have to think about any of the pain – that's all I want Klaus! To not feel the pain, and, even just for a minute, to have relief."

His eyes were dark as he took in the broken girl in front of him, begging him for an escape. He placed his hands on her waist and leaned into her crying face. "You don't know what you're asking for," he said with a wicked smile lining his face, contrasting the soft nature of his actions.

It was interesting for her to see the two competing sides of Klaus manifesting so plainly in front of her. She couldn't help but wonder, though, if the softer side was just an illusion. Something she needed to believe in to satisfy the craving for a connection with this beast.

"Yes, I do," she tried to convince him. "I'm asking for you to not be selfish for one night and to help me forget – just forget it _all."_

"Why don't you just turn it off?"

He placed a hand on the side of her face, stroking her cheek which was still stained from violent tears. She could see in the way his eyes were darkening and his body was leaning into hers that he was already considering letting her in for the night.

"I've lost so many things already," she lifted an eyebrow as she thought through her own reasons for needing to hold on to her humanity. "I don't want to lose myself."

She thought this was a slightly ironic answer, as she knew she already lost herself – her _true_ self, anyway – the second she was driven off that bridge. Only pieces of her had survived the wreckage.

"What little of me there is left, anyway," she amended.

He nodded his head casually as he contemplated her words for a few moments, always staring into her eyes. She knew that they were darker than they had ever been, and she wondered what he thought of as he examined their hollow emptiness.

Maybe he saw that she was right. She was like him now.

Apparently he liked the darkness that he saw inside of her, because he seemed to drop all of his questions and suspicions as he continued searching her eyes. He must have thought the blackness unconcealed in their depths suited her.

_Of course he does, _she thought.

He would delight in her heart's corruption.

But that's why she had chosen him to help her on this night. Because everyone else wanted her to be the old-Elena, to make a come-back. But Klaus didn't expect anything of her. His darkness blended into hers.

When he made no further move, her anxiety increased. She didn't want to stand still because it gave her time to think and thinking hurt too much.

Suddenly, she saw his face shift and his lips form a smile. She began to wonder if he was toying with her, playing on her emotions to see how far he could push her in her time of need.

Her suspicions were only fed further as he leaned down and she felt his lips brush against the corner of her mouth teasingly.

"Well, lovely Elena," she felt his mouth move against her as he spoke, "I've never been one to deny a woman who needed me, as I am, first and foremost, a gentleman."

The old Elena would have responded with a witty comment or a sarcastic insult, but that person was dead. And if she were alive, she wouldn't be in the arms of Klaus, anyway.

Klaus seemed slightly phased by her lack of a response, perhaps processing for the first time the extent of her damage.

He pulled back to examine her desperate face and wounded eyes which were pleading him to give into her request. Her request for _him_. That idea alone was alarming.

He shook his head softly, his face contemplative.

"My precious doppelganger," he mused, running his thumb over her bottom lip, "I'm afraid this life has ruined you."

She blinked, not sure if this pleased or troubled him. His face was completely unreadable at that moment.

"And there's nothing you could have done to prevent it. It's just the curse of being a Petrova doppelganger." He was now holding her face softly between his hands.

"I've watched each one of you be brought to your destruction," he spoke in a dark whisper, "all by my own hand, not-so-coincidentally."

His words were dangerous and his eyes showed a morbid pride, but they didn't reveal any malice. He was bluntly stating what he apparently thought to be a simple truth – a casual inevitability.

She felt the loathing she'd always had for him roll through her, but it didn't deter her from his presence. It only fueled her, as her hatred for him could overshadow the pain.

Her eyes drove into the eyes of the one who had been the inescapable cause of devastation for centuries. She thought of not only all of the people he had massacred with his hands, but of herself, Katherine, and Tatia. The three women who had all suffered the most due to their supernatural link to the hybrid that they had no control over.

"You've been the reason we've all burned to ashes, and, yet, you feel no guilt," she accused plainly, cocking an eyebrow. "I think I kind of envy you for that. But, not near as much as I hate you for it."

"Don't hate me, love," he persuaded, his lips turning slightly upwards. "It's just the way things are. It was inevitable. You being who you are ensured that we would be brought together. It was your destiny to be used in my sacrifice and for your blood to be used for my hybrids. Your blood was created for me."

He ducked his head down and allowed his nose to skim her neck, inhaling deeply. "That's why it sings to me…even while you're a vampire. We're bonded."

He continued to trail his nose down her long neck as he spoke.

"The hybrid and his doppelganger," he finished.

She showed obvious contempt for his words, not accepting that she had been destined to be used for his purposes. She may not have known who she was anymore, but she knew she wasn't _that._

Taking notice of her disgusted face, Klaus let out a slight chuckle which she felt in her chest.

"Don't be like that. I think it's kind of romantic." His accent rang in her ears and she saw that his arrogant smirk had reappeared.

"We may be connected, but it's only through mutual hate and misery," she told him resolutely.

"I think it's both."

"I think I'm tired of talking."

His eyebrow cocked upwards and he evidently had decided somewhere in the midst of their conversation that he would oblige her, as his lips were upon hers forcefully and suddenly.

Her hands stayed on his chest, not sure what to do with themselves. The shock that she was actually kissing Klaus – _Klaus – _had her mind stumbling. But, this was good.

She was just happy he seemed to be giving her what she wanted – an escape. With the enemy. It may have seemed wrong on any other occasion, but things weren't normal anymore. The lines between good and evil had blurred in her mind.

She didn't really even have a choice, if she thought about it. She couldn't connect to the others in the form she currently possessed. But, Klaus was another story. He could understand her new, broken shape. Hadn't he just proudly claimed to be the one who had formed it?

He moved them backwards into his mansion, guiding her by placing his hands on her waist. Their lips never broke away from each other – stuck together in a passionate display.

The second she had felt his soft, dark lips on hers, she instantly felt better. Things were moving forward again and she was hoping her mind wouldn't catch up. That it would be lost somewhere outside in the darkness.

The way he kissed her was new. It wasn't hesitant or gentle. It was greedy and insistent, claiming her mouth like he really believed she belonged to him in some sort of macabre, fated sense. And, she had to admit, their mouths _did_ fit together almost perfectly.

She felt him tear his mouth away from hers, only to plant biting kisses along her jawline. She felt a mixture of lips, tongue, and teeth along her neck where he was biting her and soothing the wounds.

His grip on her was strong, but she knew he was only using a fraction of his potential power to keep her in place against him.

Her hands tangled in his messy, dirty-blonde hair as she pulled him up, prompting him to take her lips again. She could feel his necklace pressing against her collarbone, blazing her skin.

She felt herself get lost in their kiss more easily than she had anticipated. It almost felt long overdue – as if she had been waiting for this contact with him for longer than just tonight, but never knew it.

Her mind became absorbed with him. This was what she needed. Tonight, she would fill herself up with this wicked distraction. And tomorrow she would do what she had to do and confront the ruins of her life.

Abruptly, he stopped his movements and pulled back, interrupting his soothing spell. She noticed that his eyes appeared to be completely black, just like she was sure hers were.

"What do you want from me, Elena?" he asked with an edge to his voice she couldn't clearly identify. She was surprised by his question. Hadn't she made it clear?

She just needed a connection with someone who shared her mutual need for detachment. Someone who was as cold as she felt inside and would use her up until she wouldn't have anything left to feel.

But, he knew this. Did he need her confirmation or did he just want to hear her beg?

"Answer me!" he commanded sharply, his voice raising higher to compensate for her silence.

"I already told you, I want you to take me. To make it stop hurting, because I know you can," she explained as honestly as she could.

"Why?" His eyes had suddenly changed from the passion she saw during their kiss, but she couldn't pinpoint the shift.

"Why what?"

Her eyebrows furrowed and she wondered why he was making her think. She didn't want to think, that's why she was standing in the middle of this foyer, held inside the arms of the enemy.

"Why should I end your suffering?"

She blinked, not knowing where this was headed.

"Why should I grant you the relief you desire? What reason do I have to extend mercy to you?"

Suddenly, she felt sick. He was making it seem as if sleeping with her would be an act of charity – a reward for her.

Had she really stooped to this level? Was she really so pathetic as to let him feel this powerful and mighty?

"I wasn't aware it was a _privilege_," she nearly spat at him.

He pushed her away from him, straightening his black jacket back into place. "You've been very foolish tonight, Elena. Any kindness I show you at all is a 'privilege' after what you've done."

She stared blankly at him, too bewildered to even move. Where did this sudden change come from? Hadn't he just been teasing her and describing their so-called "romantic" destiny?

She could have sworn there had been sympathy in his eyes, even regret in his actions, just moments earlier. Maybe that had been the illusion she feared. She had obviously deluded herself into thinking there had been any tenderness inside of him that would take pity on her.

She looked at him now and all she saw was the face of the man who had destroyed nearly every life he had come into contact with. And yet, here she was standing with her wounds raw and exposed to him.

"Why are you doing this? I thought –"

"You're mistaken," he interrupted harshly, his face showing signs of the fury she had seen from him in the past. "There's no reason for me to offer you any sympathy or help. Would you like to know why?"

He moved towards her with a predatory glint burning in his dark orbs.

"Because I don't want to see you healed, little Elena. You're a smart girl, you can put two and two together. You know that I've hunted down and seen to the demise of every single being that has ever wronged me. What made you think you would be an exception?"

He paused to stroke her face, but this time it was a chilling move which caused Elena's spine to stiffen. "The way I see it, your eternal misery is the only thing that compensates for the sting of my brother's death. Consider it _my_ coping mechanism." His voice was dark and sardonic as his eyes scorched into her.

"So, the next time you come to me for relief," his voice was mockingly soothing, "keep in mind that the very fact you're still breathing is the greatest mercy I can offer you."

With that, he turned away from her began to walk away.

"Or the greatest punishment," she called after him, softly.

He turned around at the remark. "Precisely."

"You know, I see right through you," she stated truthfully as he began walking away again.

He didn't turn around to face her this time, but remained still.

"You say you want me to suffer endlessly as punishment for what I did to Kol. But I've already been suffering for the last year because of you. You've either tried to kill or have successfully killed nearly everybody I care about!" She was shouting now, the panic and desperation hitting her with a crushing force.

"It's like you said, I was always destined to be destroyed by you. So don't pretend that you're turning me away as punishment. You've punished me enough. You're turning me away because you're afraid for me to see you – to _really_ see you."

He still had his back to her and she desperately wanted to see his face so she could read his emotions.

"And that's either because deep down there truly is nothing inside of you…" she spoke in a low tone, "or because there's a lot that you're hiding."

Before she could blink he had appeared before her in a startling flash. His face was no more than a few inches away from hers and his eyes were wild.

"Get out," he commanded in a tone that caused Elena to seriously consider complying. When she didn't move, his eyes grew impossibly darker.

"Take your foolish theories and leave. If not for me, then for the sake of your own pride, as you're sounding quite pathetic now," he sneered at her.

His words stung but she refused to cooperate. She wasn't going to give up this easily, not when he had given her a taste of the distraction she needed to mask the pain.

"Leave!" he roared at her, his true fury breaking the surface, at last.

The tears she had thought had dried up forever returned with a vengeance.

"Please don't do this, I know you don't mean it." Truthfully, she didn't know if he did or didn't, but she did know that she didn't want to be cast out into the darkness by herself. She had needed him to explore the dark with her but now he was denying her, leaving her to fend for herself.

Inside, she was growing hysterical at the thought of leaving and truly having to face everything. It nearly brought her to her knees. She thought she wasn't going to have to deal with this tonight. He had played her and betrayed her confidence. Or had he?

For the life of her, she couldn't tell which parts of him were genuine and which were acts.

"I don't want you here!" he was still shouting at her, veins beginning to protrude from his temples. "You can deal with your misery like the rest of us – _alone._"

This madness had come on so suddenly and so unpredictably. Either she had been completely fooled earlier by his charm into thinking he was somewhat human or her theory was right, and he was angry now that he had allowed her slightly inside himself. Either way, his rage was unexpected and currently ripping Elena apart. But what else should she had expected from a psychopath?

She was rooted to her spot, her mind not fully processing this turn of events. Her mind wouldn't let her believe that she was about to be sent out to face reality and all of its cruelty.

At her lack of movement, Klaus decided to remove her personally. He strode towards her forcefully, causing her to back up towards the open door as she shook her head violently.

"Please don't do this, I'm sorry!" she begged him hardly able to think at all, but managing to raise her voice at him pleadingly.

"You won't find any compassion here, and certainly not forgiveness." His eyes were cold and calm now, completely reminiscent of the calculating villain she had come to know him as.

Finally, he had pushed her outside of his home and she stumbled out into the frigid, cold air.

He searched her eyes once more before attempting to shut the door in her face. She saw nothing in his eyes that would indicate regret or remorse – only cool detachment from her now.

Refusing to consent to this exile, she caught the door with her palm before he could slam it shut. The wood which she had splintered earlier caught in her hand, but she didn't even flinch.

"I'm _begging_ you, Klaus!" she screamed at him uncontrollably, forsaking all pride. Fear had trumped ego.

"You can't do this to me, please! Don't leave me out here alone, _please!"_

But it was too late. He placed a hand on her shoulder and pushed her away from the door effortlessly.

One last hard, unsympathetic glare shot her way, and the door was closed. That was when she was confident her mind broke completely.

She fell to her knees in front of the door, palms scraping at the wood, knowing it was finished. There was no hope now. No relief. No chance.

Her tears flooded her and she choked every time she inhaled, her body rejecting the movement.

"Please, no!" her cries echoed fiercely in the night air.

Even with all of its supernatural strength, her body failed against the onslaught of pain that was scorching her insides completely; eventually, her head bowed to the ground, too weak to support itself.

"Don't leave me alone," she begged, but, by now, her words were nothing more than a defeated whisper. Her voice, along with her entire being, was burnt out.

The darkness around her didn't relent – the sun was too far away. It continued to engulf the world surrounding her, oblivious to the girl slowly fading in its midst.

She got up from where she had fallen, though she didn't know how, and somehow ended up back on the road she had come from. Only this time, there was no chance of numbing the pain.

Nothing to pursue. Everything was gone.

She knew she would have to go back – back to the people waiting for her. She would have to face them as a shell of the girl they wanted her to be.

There would be caring smiles and encouraging talks. She knew they would try to relate, but she would disregard them.

Her darkness didn't belong with their light. The person who could have shared in her darkness – the only person who stood a chance at momentarily calming the fiery ache inside – had refused her.

_He wins_, she thought bitterly. _He always wins._

And it was true. Throughout everything he had done and regardless of every attempt to take him down, he always persevered and managed to come out on top.

And, now, he was getting his ultimate revenge on Elena. She saw no other road for her now except for eternal torture.

She hoped darkly that he would be satisfied with this. Never again would she try to see him as anything else, but a vicious psychopath with an absent conscience and a soul of ice.

She quickly resolved to forget every single detail that she had ever collected of Klaus.

But deep down she knew her mind could never escape her tormentor – the one who had ensured her collapse through his selfish actions, as he had been doing to others for hundreds of years.

As she prepared to go back to the only ones she had left, she decided to let all thoughts of Klaus slip her mind for the moment. She was sure her hatred for him would have plenty of time to haunt her later.

She had no idea what would happen going on from this point, or how she would ever put herself back together. Honestly, she didn't even care if she did. She didn't even know if there would be anything left for her when she returned.

All she knew was that her last hope had just failed her, and now the pain from Jeremy's death, and the reminders of everything she had lost, wasn't asking for her permission as it began to consume her.

As she made her way back to the place where she had started, she finally felt her heart's resignation to its destruction.

* * *

_A:N/ Hey guys! I decided to update this a little early as I was inspired by so many lovely reviews! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you aren't disappointed by how it ended. I've never seen the realism in two polar opposite characters hooking up in the beginning of the story. So, yeah..I'm a slowwww burrrnnner. ; ) Anyway, these first three chapters were the set-up and base for my story, so things will pick up here in the coming chapters._ _I feel like I should let you guys know that a lot of the inspiration I'm getting from this story is coming from my music - particularly, a few songs by Within Temptation. If you guys are interested in regularly hearing about the music that's inspiring me, let me know! Otherwise, I'll just keep it to myself and feel really awkward about having asked..._

Much Love,

Elizabeth 


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